Earthquake adds to Japanese team’s worry ahead of Colombia match

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A strong earthquake rocked Osaka early on Monday, adding to the Japanese players’ stress ahead of their World Cup game against Colombia.

“The psychological impact is something I’m slightly worried about at this point,” said Japan coach Akira Nishino before the Monday afternoon training session. “As staff members, we are consulting with them and I’d like them to be settled down as soon as possible.”

While Nishino told of another situation, in which an alarm went off at the team hotel in Saransk and blared for about 15 minutes at nearly the same time as the earthquake struck, so that most of the players were aware of the earthquake. The alarm kept ringing, meaning some of the players felt tired in the morning, having a negative impact on the team.

Japanese players with ties to Osaka include goalkeeper Masaaki Higashigushi and midfielder Hotaru Yamaguchi, who play professionally in Osaka, while attacking midfielder Keisuke Honda was born in the area.

Team officials said that none of the players have reported their family or close friends being injured or affected by the quake, nor have they reported any difficulty contacting loved ones.

“I would like to extend heartfelt condolences to the people who have been affected and hope that the damage will be limited and the recovery is as quick as possible,” Japan captain Makoto Hasebe told a news conference in Saransk.

Japan arrived in Saransk on Sunday and will have their opening match with Colombia on Tuesday.

(With input from AP/Reuters)